“My daughter’s been in the house crying, begging me not to send her back to school. (She) said that she’ll do good in home school and she promises. She doesn’t want to go back to a public school,” Tenisha Bynes said.

The girl said the punishment was painful.

“When she put it on, it was like, OK, and then, like, it started to hurt my mouth right here. It’s also hard for me to breathe with the tape, too,” she said. The girl’s name is being withheld because of her age.

The teacher did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Aurora Public Schools issued a statement saying it’s taking this seriously and will conduct its own investigation.